Ladders have become a common tool to enable people to reach locations that would otherwise be too high off the ground. One type of ladder, otherwise known as a stepladder, essentially forms an inverted V when in place. This inverted V shape allows the ladder to be self-supporting, with the weight of the ladder and the weight of anything on the ladder being distributed about the bottom ends of the four side rails that comprise the ladder.
However, because of this ability of the ladder to fold together for storage purposes, there is also present the problem of the two sets of side rails moving sideways (rather than toward or away from each other) relative to each other about the joint at the top of the ladder. Since the joint is designed to function in a forward or back motion with respect to the two sets of side rails, any side motion experienced by the joint is injurious to it. Over time, this abuse can loosen the joint with respect to its ability to hold the sets of side rails from moving in a sideways motion. In addition, the movement of the side rails relative to each other can also cause damage to the rails themselves if they contact each other during their relative movement.
One type of clamp that has been used to hold the side rails adjacent each other is in the form of a C, with the C formed of three straight portions and having hooks at each end of the C. The hooks fit about the adjacent side rails and attempt to prevent sideways motion of the side rails during shipping. While this C clip seems to limit sideways motion of the side rails, it does not provide the ability to maintain the side rails of two different ladders adjacent, for instance, for stacking and storage purposes during shipping.